Lost Royalty

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Her presence was once one that enamoured the masses. A beautiful young princess whose destiny seemed to be set in a life of royal balls and princes.
But her abrupt absence filled the hearts of s...

Chapter 1

"We can't give up on her!" declared a quiet voice from the corner of the room. It could barely be heard, yet the whole room turned to the direction it came from. Daniel Mason was sitting there, his body slumped and his eyes full of desperation.

Prince Daniel wasn't a notably quiet sixteen-year-old boy, but when it came to talking about his sister, it seemed all words were lost.

Slumped in the corner of the room, he seemed small and insignificant. But the significance of his words hit the room like a sudden wall.

It was common knowledge that the bond between twins was strong, but the strength of the connection was often underestimated, much like it had been for the young royals. Danny and Eliza, as they were known to each other, had a bond even stronger than most. A bond so deep that even a short separation was like a dagger to Danny's heart.

What seemed most odd, was that little Eliza had never felt the overwhelming strength of their connection.

And so, on the fateful day that Eliza disappeared, Daniel felt a million daggers stabbing into his young heart. His heart was shattered into more pieces than his mothers was, and at such a young age he had sunk into a deep depression.

The only thing left keeping the young price breathing was hope.

But nine years later, the hope was thinning. The entire family held onto a thin string of hope, which was slowly snapping one strand at a time.

"Prince Daniel," began an elderly gentleman, his cheeks red with anger as he shook his head. "It's been nine years of using up our most successful investigators and wasting endless funds. We haven't even gotten any current leads as to where she could be. It is useless."

The argument had been going in circles for the last hour, and no conclusions were even close to being made. The majority of people had begun to grow weary, so only the royals and important advisors were arguing.

The largest meeting room had been filled with important people, most of whom had something to say in the discussion. But to the royals, it was beginning to feel like the whole kingdom was against their search for their missing daughter and sister.

At this point, Prince Andrew, the eldest of the Mason children, spoke up. His involvement in the search for Eliza had been high from the first day she was missing, and he had never given up hope. They would find her. He would find her.

Growing up and making decisions about something so important had had its strain on the young man. Frown lines were already emerging on his face, and his eyes lacked the sparkle that he'd had as a child.

"I refuse to allow you to stop looking. We should be doing all that it takes to find her," he said, emotion clearly taking over. His body was shaking slightly, and his hands were cold and clammy. It was unusual for him to become so emotional, but for some reason, he was losing control. Gripping onto the edge of the table in front of him, he took a deep breath. His knuckles turned white, and he wanted nothing more than to flip the table over. It would be useless though, he wouldn't be able to lift the heavy oak an inch.

"She is most probably dead, Prince Andrew. And we are wasting valuable resources continuing this useless hunt," the advisor butted in, shaking his head at the determined royals. He wasn't usually a harsh man, but on this one occasion, he let his worries for the kingdom overrule his kind attitude.

He had been the only man willing to approach the Royals with regards to the subject of their missing princess. The other advisors had all shied away in fear of losing their jobs and not being able to provide for their families.

The two men glared into each other's eyes, both wanting so desperately to win the silent battle. It was useless really, as neither of them had the power to actually change things. But they both felt the need to win.

"But she could be alive," Andrew said, rubbing his eyes. "She could be trapped somewhere, desperate for freedom. Unless we find out that she is definitely dead, I will not believe it. We cannot give up on her; we have to find my baby sister!"

The last word came out in a sob, and Andrew covered his face with his hands. The future king wasn't supposed to cry.

"And what if she doesn't want to be found?" he retorted, rather harshly. "We have to consider the possibility. We have no evidence that she was even kidnapped. She could have run away."

"Don't be ridiculous," the Queen said. "No seven year old leaves home and manages to hide for nine years. I do not think for a second that she does not want to be found."

The Queen, Penelope Mason, was a strong woman whom all looked up to. Whilst her small frame and button nose made her look small and insignificant, her words were greatly admired by most. A single tear ran down her cheek and from the look of her hazel eyes, anyone would be able to tell that she was holding back more.

In other kingdoms, the Queens had very small roles in the running of the kingdom. But Queen Penelope had stepped up and did all that she could to help find her daughter.

"Then what do you suggest that we do?" the advisor asked, looking the Queen directly in the eye.

Queen Penelope was in deep thought for a few moments. Her mind was running in circles, and the dizzy feeling in her brain stopped her from thinking properly. They simply couldn't give up the search. She had to see her daughter again.

She tucked in a strand of greying hair that had come loose from the tight chignon hairstyle that she was wearing, and took a deep breath. They were waiting for her to say something, anything really.

The King spoke up, silencing the whispers that had broken out in a ripple around the room, echoing from the walls and ceilings.

"We need to increase our efforts. We will do searches of every town across the kingdom, and we will not stop. Every girl will be checked for their history, family and situation. We will find my daughter, no matter what it takes," he said. "I will put one representative in every village. I want a full report on every single girl who it seems could be the princess. If we do not find her before her 17th birthday we will end the search."

With that said the King rose from his seat and held out his arm for the Queen to take. She stared into his eyes, searching for reason. But nothing made sense. She took the hand and followed her husband from the room.

Silently, Andrew and Daniel both stood up and trailed their parents. Danny's eyes were glued to the floor in a desperate attempt to keep himself together. His legs shook as he walked, and it felt like his heart was breaking all over again. They had until her seventeenth birthday. That wasn't long at all.

Andrew, on the other hand, sent a sad smile to his friend Oscar. Oscar had known Elizabeth as well, and since becoming an adult he had done everything he could to help find her. Andrew longed to spend more time on the search, but since his sixteenth birthday, he had been trapped in lessons preparing him to become a king.

As soon as the door was closed behind the royalty, the room burst into conversation. The plans had begun, and desperation to find the missing princess was renewed.